MaKey MaKey Quickstart Guide
This Tutorial is Retired!
This tutorial covers concepts or technologies that are no longer current. It's still here for you to read and enjoy, but may not be as useful as our newest tutorials.
View the updated tutorial: Makey Makey Classic Hookup Guide
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Introduction
Welcome to the world of MaKey MaKey! A world where every day objects are much more than what they appear. Bananas are more than just a curvy fruit - they're keys to a virtual piano. Play-dough isn't just a tasty child's toy - it's the controlling force behind Pacman's up/down/left/right. And your simple pencil drawings are a portal to Portal.
Be prepared to look at every day objects in a whole new light. Be stoked! The world is your construction kit.
Covered in This Tutorial
This tutorial's purpose is to help get you up and running with the MaKey MaKey -- everything from what the board is, to installing it, to using it. Sections are split into pages, covering the following topics:
- What is the MaKey MaKey? -- What's what on the MaKey MaKey board?
- Installing the MaKey MaKey -- How to connect the board, and install it. Extra focus on Windows, which requires a driver be installed.
- Making Your First Key -- How to use banana cables to create your first MaKey MaKey button.
- Resources and Going Further -- Links to inspire and educate.
Materials Required
- MaKey MaKey -- The star of the show! The standard and retail versions of the MaKey MaKey should already include:
- A computer (Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux) with an available USB slot
- Software to read in key presses (e.g. Canabalt, Virtual Piano, Tetris, Powerpoint, etc.)
- Button material (e.g. fruit, Play-Doh, tin foil, copper tape, a friend)
- A primed imagination
Suggested Reading
- What is a Circuit? -- To create a MaKey MaKey "key", a circuit must be created so current can flow.
- Voltage, Current, Resistance and Ohm's Law -- Learn about the three fundamental concepts behind electricity, and how they're related by Ohm's law. The MaKey MaKey works by bending our idea of resistive material.
- Voltage Dividers -- Voltage dividers are the secret behind every MaKey MaKey input. This tutorial digs a bit deeper into circuit theory.